Science, Grade 6

The Sun, planets, and moons

I can describe the main features of the Sun, the planets, and moons in our solar system.

Day, night, and seasons

I can explain that Earth's spinning causes day and night, and Earth's tilted orbit causes the seasons.

Moon phases, eclipses, and tides

I can explain how the changing positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun cause moon phases, eclipses, and tides.

Comets, asteroids, and meteoroids

I can describe meteoroids, asteroids, and comets and tell how they are different.

Constellations

I can identify some constellations and explain that they are patterns of stars people named long ago.

Living in space

I can describe how astronauts meet their needs — air, water, food, and safety — while living in space.

The forces of flight

I can identify and describe the four forces that affect flight: lift, gravity, thrust, and drag.

Lift and wing shape

I can explain how lift overcomes gravity and how a wing's shape produces lift.

Bernoulli's principle

I can explain Bernoulli's principle — that faster-moving air has lower pressure — and spot it in everyday situations.

Drag and propulsion

I can describe ways to reduce drag and the ways flying devices are propelled forward.

Aircraft and spacecraft

I can describe how aircraft and spacecraft are designed differently and explain why.

How birds and insects fly

I can identify the features that let birds and insects fly.

Static and current electricity

I can compare static electricity (a build-up of charge) with current electricity (a flow of charge).

Building circuits

I can build a simple circuit and explain how a switch turns the flow of electricity on and off.

Series and parallel circuits

I can compare series and parallel circuits and describe how each behaves.

Conductors and insulators

I can compare which materials let electricity flow (conductors) and which do not (insulators).

What electricity can do

I can show how electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, motion, and magnetic effects.

Electricity and magnetism

I can explain that electricity flowing in a coil makes a magnet — an electromagnet — and describe how it works.

Generating electricity

I can identify ways electricity is generated and classify sources as renewable or non-renewable.

Saving electricity and staying safe

I can explain ways to use less electricity and describe how to stay safe around electricity.

Why we classify living things

I can explain why scientists use a common system to classify living things and how it helps.

Vertebrates and invertebrates

I can tell the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates and give examples of each.

Classes of vertebrates

I can compare the five vertebrate groups — mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes — by their characteristics.

Arthropods

I can describe what arthropods have in common and compare common kinds like insects, spiders, and crustaceans.

Microorganisms

I can describe microorganisms — living things too small to see — and how they meet their basic needs.

Adaptations around the world

I can compare how closely related animals in different places have different adaptations, and explain why.

Fossils and change over time

I can explain how fossils show that animals have changed over very long periods of time.